Consumer electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi is eyeing another $500 million to ­$1 billion in annual sales as technology that allows consumers to remotely ­control functions such as home lighting, heating and appliances through the internet becomes mainstream.

Twelve months after its $520 million IPO, Dick Smith is slowly but surely convincing investors that it is a very different company to the struggling consumer electronics chain sold by Woolworths two years ago.

The S&P/ASX 200 is up by just 3.1 per cent this year, so investors have had to work harder for their gains than in 2013, but backing initial public offerings is one strategy that has proved successful.

Dick Smith chief executive Nick Abboud has moved to dispel concerns that the consumer electronics retailer’s profit rebound under new owners may prove short-lived, unveiling ambitious sales and margin growth targets for the next three years.

A host of reviews makes good business for lobbying, but dropping in on ministers for that quiet chat is to become more difficult after the Department of Parliamentary Services last week quietly suspended the renewal or issue of sponsored parliamentary passes.

Companies are set to come under scrutiny for “gaming” earnings to meet executive bonus hurdles and for favouring large investors in capital raisings as the peak season for AGMs kicks off in earnest this week.

Market activity has swelled to record levels as investors rush for the exit in anticipation of a downturn ahead of the US Federal Reserve making a call as soon as this week on when to raise interest rates.

Macquarie Capital has been appointed to manage the potential sale of Anchorage Capital Partners’ stake in Dick Smith Holdings, which on Tuesday reported 2014 financial year results about 5 per cent above forecasts.

Updated | Dick Smith shares soared more than 11 per cent and reached its issue price for the first time since April after the retailer beat prospectus forecasts and Anchorage said it had no immediate plans to sell its stake.

Hot on the heels of the busiest financial year for initial public offerings to the Australian market since the global financial crisis, deal makers and fund managers are predicting an even stronger 12 months ahead.

After several years of hiatus, local equity capital markets (ECM) transactions have kept investment bankers on their toes this year. Activity is frenetic across new listings, block trades and follow-on raisings and many are expressing optimism that momentum will be sustained in the latter half of 2014.

Much has been written about the resurgent initial public offering market and the juggernaut floats of Healthscope and Medibank, but less ink has been spilled over the potentially colossal share trades looming on the class of 2013.

Pacific Equity Partners’ $1.1 billion bid for standards group SAI Global has fuelled chatter about a wave of acquisitions as private equity firms reinvest the proceeds from a spate of floats hitting the red hot IPO market.

Shane Lee, an equity strategist from CIMB, didn’t think this week’s budget would prove to be a significant drag on economic growth, but Bell Potter’s Charlie Aitken described it as a speed hump for investors.

The $750 million-plus Canon Australia operations are being heavily restructured with more than 100 positions in back-office support and administration being scrapped as the digital camera and printer company pushes to lift returns on investment from its local operations.

Consumer electronics business JB Hi-Fi will use up $27.2 million of its cash reserves to buy back 1.4 per cent of the company from investors, signalling the company is not looking for near-term acquisitions.

CIMB analyst Daniel Broeren lists several reasons to invest in Dick Smith, noting “negative perceptions around the private equity exit, stock overhang and lack of trading history have created a buying opportunity”.

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19 March 2014 | PAGE 1 | David Jones turns the corner with a lift in earnings

Updated | David Jones has strengthened its defence against a nil-premium merger offer from Myer by delivering its strongest department store profit growth since the McInnes era and opening the door to the sale or development of its property portfolio.

Updated | Shares in Dick Smith have slumped almost 10 per cent even though the consumer electronics retailer is confident of meeting full year prospectus forecasts after profits beat expectations in the December-half.

Analysts at Macquarie have initiated coverage of Dick Smith Holdings with an outperform recommendation and a 12-month target price of $2.60. While the company has traded fairly erratically since listing on the ASX in December 2013, the broker is upbeat about the stock, highlighting the impressive and relatively quick turnaround management has achieved in transforming not just the company’s operational performance, but its financial position.

A trickle of floats became a torrent in 2013. Sellers seized on a rising sharemarket and rushed for the exits, fund managers absorbed billions of dollars of new stock, and investors enjoyed fast gains in some listings. Nine Entertainment and Dick Smith were two of the biggest IPOs of the year.

Retailers have been buoyed by high levels of foot traffic and the solid take-up of new service offerings, but opinions are mixed on whether results from the 2013 holiday season will be brighter than last year.

Deal action in the local equity capital markets picked up in 2013, and looking ahead to 2014 the initial public offering pipeline is tipped to grow, while merger and acquisition transactions also increase.

As bankers scramble together pitch books for the 25-plus private equity backed initial public offer candidates that could come to market next year, there is much discussion about the benefits of running tightly controlled cornerstoning processes.

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07 December 2013 | PAGE 1 | Nine sinks in likely record year for floats

The wave of IPOs to hit the Australian market this year is closing in on the all time record of $10 billion, although Nine Entertainment’s disappointing debut suggests some investors are losing their appetite for new stocks.

There has always been a perception that the Lowy family is one step ahead of the game so the latest revamp of their Westfield property empire will reinforce the idea that the big opportunities now lie in Europe and the United States rather than Australia.

Chanticleer | The solid debut of Dick Smith on the Australian stockmarket is another example of the market’s insatiable demand for initial public offers, a trend expected to continue well into next year.

Dick Smith chief executive Nick Abboud has dismissed concerns the retailer will struggle to grow sales and profits beyond 2014, when major shareholder Anchorage Capital Partners will be entitled to sell its entire stake, realising a four fold return on its investment.

Among the 21 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange website, which are set to list with a total worth of more than $10 billion, are Dick Smith on Monday and Nine Entertainment Co, which lists on Friday.

When packaging company Pact Group was on a roadshow in Asia last week ahead of its $1.7 billion initial offer, one investor told owner Raphael Geminder it was the best float to come out of Australia in five years.